Portugal
Photo: Mon Œil, CC BY 2.0, croppedPastel de nata
/pɐʃˈtɛl dɨ ˈnatɐ/pash-TEL deh NAH-tah
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- Taste
- SweetRich
- Made with
- EggDairy & cheeseWheat & flour
History
The pastel de nata is a small tart of crisp, flaky pastry filled with egg custard and baked at very high heat until the top is scorched in spots. It was created by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon. Convents used a lot of egg whites to starch clothes, and yolks were left over for sweets. When the monasteries were closed in 1834, the monks sold the recipe to a nearby sugar refinery, which opened the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém in 1837; it still keeps the original recipe secret and calls its tarts pastéis de Belém. Elsewhere they are pastéis de nata, dusted with cinnamon.
Sources
